Evidence of climate change

Australian and International research bodies have been building a comprehensive evidence base to understand how our climate is already changing. Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer than any preceding decade since 1850. The period from 1983 to 2012 was likely the warmest 30 year period of the last 1400 years in the Northern Hemisphere. Changes in many extreme weather and climate events have been observed since 1950. Some of these changes have been linked to human influences, including a decrease in cold temperature extremes, an increase in warm temperature extremes, an increase in extreme high sea levels and an increase in the number of intense rainfall events in a number of regions(IPCC Fifth Assessment Synthesis Report 2014).

Observed global climate change

Organisations like the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate.govwebsite has a dashboard with global climate information. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), formed by the World Meteorological Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme, reviews the scientific evidence for climate change and summarises the findings in regular assessment reports. For more information see: Observed global climate change.

Observed climate change in Australia and NSW

In Australia we are also observing these changes. CSIRO and Australian Bureau of Meteorology produce a range of reports including the State of the Climatewhich provides a summary of observations of Australia’s climate and analysis of the factors that influence it. For more information see: Observed Australian climate change.

Closer to home we have been observing these changes in NSW as well as their impacts. In 2010 OEH released a report on the observed effects of climate change. See: Observed NSW climate change.

To improve our understanding of key climate systems that impact NSW, we are also investing in research. The Eastern Seaboard Climate Change Initiative is led by OEH and has partnered with researchers and the Bureau of Meteorology to improve our understanding of East Coast Lows. For more information see: Eastern seaboard climate change initiative.

Do you want to see how climate change will affect your region?

This site works best when viewed in a modern browser, for instance Internet Explorer 11 or latest versions of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

The Adapt NSW site now has an interactive map that allows you to see how climate change is projected to affect your region. You can look at the high resolution grid maps which display climate change at 10km scale or the regional maps which provide a summary for your region. Click through the variables and different time periods to see how the climate is projected to change for your region.

Are you looking for climate change data?

For the first time, the NSW and ACT Regional Climate Model (NARCLiM) allows you access to high resolution climate change data. This data is in a format that can be inputted directly into most biophysical models. You can choose the variable, time period and location of the data you want to download. The data portal provides instructions on how to download the data.

Do you want to learn more about climate change?

The About Climate Change tab provides a one stop shop for information on how and why our climate is changing. There is information to help understand the causes of climate change, climate change modelling, evidence of climate change today and how NSW is responding to the challenge.

Do you want to know how to adapt to climate change?

Climate change projections help us to understand how climate change is going to impact us. We then need to know how to adapt to those impacts. Adapting to climate change provides information on what adaptation is, sector specific issues and responses, and the process you can go through to understand and respond to the risks to and vulnerabilities of your services, assets and community from climate change.